CPR For Dogs

							Title:
CPR For Dogs

Word Count:
328

Summary:
Anyone who has been to a CPR class
is familiar with the basics of mout
h-to-mouth resuscitation. First you
_ll check to be sure the patient ha
s a clear airway, then check to see
 if the patient is breathing, check
 whether the patient has a heartbea
t and, if the patient awakens durin
g the process, be careful that you
don_t get bitten by the patient.

The American Red Cross has been ins
tructing people in CPR for pets for
 quite some time now and has classe
  that include
s Keywords: all manne...



Article Body:
Anyone who has been to a CPR class
is familiar with the basics of mout
h-to-mouth resuscitation. First you
_ll check to be sure the patient ha
s a clear airway, then check to see
 if the patient is breathing, check
 whether the patient has a heartbea
t and, if the patient awakens durin
g the process, be careful that you
don_t get bitten by the patient.

The American Red Cross has been ins
tructing people in CPR for pets for
 quite some time now and has classe
s that include all manner of first
aid, including mouth-to-snout resus
citation. You read that correctly;
mouth-to-snout.

The procedure is similar to traditi
onal mouth-to-mouth resuscitation b
etween humans, the chief difference
 being that the person performing t
he procedure will close the dog_s m
outh and instead provide breaths in
to the dog_s nose. The process soun
ds humorous in theory, but it works
 and knowing how to perform mouth-t
o-snout resuscitation on your pet c
ould literally save its life.

According to a March 2002 story fro
m The Scoop, a website that reports
 on dogs in the news (you know the
theory _ _DOG BITES MAN_ is not new
s while _MAN BITES DOG_ is), a dog
in Walla Walla, Washington that was
 accidentally choked nearly to deat
h was saved by a quick-acting Good
Samaritan who was trained in mouth-
to-snout.

After being revived, the dog was tr
eated at the Walla Walla Associated
 Veterinary Clinic and released.

In addition to the mouth-to-snout p
rocedure, dogs can have chest compr
essions performed in an emergency w
here the heart stops. Learning and
knowing these techniques can save t
he life of a dog in distress and le
t him live to chase rabbits or play
 fetch another day.

The concept of pet CPR is gaining m
uch notoriety and is starting to be
 taught by organizations all over t
he country that formerly provided t
raditional CPR training and certifi
cation. If you_re interested in tak
ing these classes yourself, contact
 your local Red Cross. The life you
 save may be your dog_s.